How On Pasture Gets Made

We’ve been putting On Pasture up every Tuesday morning for about 3 and a half years now and, with Rachel in New York and Kathy in Arizona we’ve settled into a routine of lots and lots of phone calls, emails, drafts and redrafts. But it’s not just the two of us, it’s you too, because On Pasture wouldn’t happen without you.

So the minute we saw this video we realized, “That’s On Pasture!” Putting out a new issue of On Pasture every week looks a lot like three guitar players playing on a single guitar. Rachel and Kathy each strum part of the song, and there you are as the third set of hands, helping keep tempo, and adding in important comments and questions.

It’s the best demonstration for the intricate, behind-the-scenes music we all play out each week. We read your emails, try to answer your questions, and prepare to dazzle you with fascinating, useful information based on science and experience. Tuesdays, new articles go up, and you all chime in with even more music. Switch out the guitar for a website, two of our computers and tens of thousands of your computers, smart phones, and tablets, and you’ve got the picture.

It turns out working together can be about as complicated and up tempo as it looks and sounds, so we’re always happy for Tuesday to roll around when we can share the new articles with you. We hope you like the music!

About the author

Rachel's interest in sustainable agriculture and grazing has deep roots in the soil. She's been following that passion around the world, working on an ancient Nabatean farm in the Negev, and with farmers in West Africa's Niger. After returning to the US, Rachel received her M.S. and Ph.D. in agronomy and soil science from the University of Maryland. For her doctoral research, Rachel spent 3 years working with Maryland dairy farmers using management intensive grazing. She then began her work with grass farmers, a source of joy and a journey of discovery.

Hi Michael,
Thanks for writing. A lot of weeds are valuable forage. If your goats and cows will eat them, it will help turn that pasture around, while helping you raise your livestock.
As for an easy learning curve, I haven’t found any single “silver bullet.” We’ve written a fair bit about pasture improvement over the past few years. If your soil is in the right range for nutrients and pH, then adding any compost is always a good thing, practice careful management to avoid overgrazing, and have patience.
Thanks for reading!
Rachel